Supplemental Work Outcomes Report

OMB #XXXX-XXXX expires XX/XX/XXXX

Supplemental Work Outcomes Report Instructions

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT OF 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) STATEMENT OF PUBLIC BURDEN: Through this information collection, ACF is gathering information to assess and evaluate whether a State TANF program meets statutorily required participation rates. Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 30 hours per grantee per year, including the time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and reviewing the collection of information. This is a mandatory collection of information (42 U.S.C. § 611). An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to, a collection of information subject to the requirements of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB # is xxxx-xxxx and the expiration date is XX/XX/XXXX. If you have any comments on this collection of information, please contact the Office of Family Assistance by email at [email protected].

The TANF Work Outcomes Measures interim final rule includes three new reporting requirements:

• Work Outcomes of TANF Exiters Report

• Secondary School Diploma or its Recognized Equivalent Attainment Rate

• Supplemental Work Outcomes Report

General Instructions

This document includes instructions for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Supplemental Work Outcomes Report authorized by 45 CFR part 265. For the Supplemental Work Outcomes Report, states have the option to submit calculated work outcomes measures that follow the definitions of the Work Outcomes of TANF Exiters (as defined in 265.3(g)) based on alternative data sources. Any state that does not have an Unemployment Insurance program and thus is unable to submit quarterly wage data to the ACF-designated wage match source will be required to submit the Supplemental Work Outcomes Report.

The Report includes the calculated work outcomes measures:

1. Employment Rate – 2nd Quarter After Exit  

2. Employment Retention Rate – 4th Quarter After Exit

3. Median Earnings – 2nd Quarter After Exit  

The report must be filed within 45 days following the end of the fiscal year.

Territories and the District of Columbia are referred to as “states.” Note: Tribes are not required to report.

INSTRUCTIONS AND DEFINITIONS

The state agency should collect and report data for each item. The data must be complete and accurate. States must use universe-level data and use the methodology described by the Office of Family Assistance (OFA). States must include the numerator and denominator used to calculate the rates and the median earnings and attach a description of the data sources.

In accordance with 45 CFR 265.2 (c) and (d), for purposes of the Supplemental Work Outcomes Report:  

Work-Eligible Individual (WEI) as defined in 45 CFR Part 261.2(n) applies to the Supplemental Work Outcomes Report.

Exit is the date that a family with a work-eligible individual ceases to receive assistance from the TANF program. The last day of assistance cannot be determined until 90 days or three months have elapsed since the participant last received assistance. 

In pay-for-performance states, ”ceases to receive” may be interpreted as “last eligible to receive” assistance. The 90 days or three months would be counted from the period the work-eligible individual last satisfied the state's performance requirement, not from the date of the benefit issuance.

Some states may move individuals out of the TANF program and into separate state programs (funded by maintenance-of-effort funds) or solely state-funded programs (not reported as maintenance-of-effort). For some states, these may be distinctly different programs, while for other states the difference may just be the funding source. The statute clearly states “with respect to a State program funded under this part” which refers only to the TANF program, and not separate state programs or solely state-funded programs. Therefore, when considering who exited TANF for this data collection, states should include as exiters those work-eligible individuals who were moved to separate state programs or solely-state funded programs and have not received TANF-funded assistance in at least 90 days or three months. 

A work-eligible individual will be included as an exiter in these measures only when their family ceases to receive assistance, and will not meet the definition of an exiter when the needs of the work-eligible individual are removed from the assistance payment but the family continues to receive assistance and the individual remains work-eligible.  An individual in the family must have been “a work-eligible individual,” as defined in 45 CFR 261.2(n)(1), in their last month of assistance. 

For reporting purposes, a family means: (a) all individuals receiving assistance as part of a family under the state’s TANF program; and (b) the following additional persons living in the family, if not included under (a) above: (1) Parent or caretaker relative of any minor child; (2) A minor child; and (3) Any person whose income or resources are counted in determining the family’s eligibility for or amount of assistance. This is the same definition used for reporting on the TANF Data Report (ACF-199) (page 4).

Unsubsidized employment is full- or part-time employment in the private or public sector after exiting the TANF program. 

The reporting period is the period of time covering one federal fiscal quarter, during which exit data relevant to the measure are recorded.

Submission Instructions:

1. Reporting Period: Enter the two-digit month (MM) and four-digit year (YYYY) codes (MM/YYYY) for the period for which the data are being reported. The table below shows the expected due dates for the next three fiscal year annual reporting periods.

Annual Reporting Period	Includes	Due Date
FY 2025, October 1, 2024 – September 30, 2025	All WEIs who exited in FY 2025 (denominator); Eligible individuals included in the denominator and who are employed two-quarters and/or four-quarters after their exit (numerator)	November 14, 2027
FY 2026, October 1, 2025 – September 30, 2026	All WEIs who exited in FY 2026 (denominator); Eligible individuals included in the denominator and who are employed two-quarters and/or four-quarters after their exit (numerator)	November 14, 2028
FY 2027, October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027	All WEIs who exited in FY 2027 (denominator); Eligible individuals included in the denominator and who are employed two-quarters and/or four-quarters after their exit (numerator)	November 14, 2029

2. Employment Rate – 2nd Quarter After Exit: The percentage of individuals who were work-eligible individuals as of the time of exit from the program, who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after the exit.

For each quarter, enter:

1. Numerator: the number of work-eligible individuals who exited from the program during the reporting period who had reported earnings during the second quarter after their exit.

2. Denominator: the number of work-eligible individuals who exited from the program during the reporting period.

3. Rate: the numerator divided by the denominator.
   
   
   

1. Employment Retention Rate – 4th Quarter After Exit: The percentage of individuals who were work-eligible individuals as of the time of exit from the program who were in unsubsidized employment in the second quarter after the exit, who are also in unsubsidized employment during the fourth quarter after the exit.

For each quarter, enter:

1. Numerator: the number of work-eligible individuals who exited from the program during the reporting period who had reported earnings during the second and fourth quarters after their exit.

2. Denominator: the number of work-eligible individuals who exited from the program during the reporting period and reported earnings during the second quarter after exit.

3. Total Rate: the numerator divided by the denominator.
   
   
   

1. Median Earnings – 2nd Quarter After Exit: The median earnings of individuals who were work-eligible individuals as of the time of exit from the program, who are in unsubsidized employment during the second quarter after the exit.
   
   To calculate the median, earnings must first be ranked (sorted in ascending order). The median earnings value is the quarterly earnings amount in the middle of the rank order list, so that there is the same quantity of records above the median as there are below the median.

If the list rank order of earnings contains an even number of values, sum the two middle values and divide by two. Whether there is an odd or even number of entries in the list of earnings values, there will be an equal number of records above and below the median value.

5. Data Sources: Attach a description of the data sources used to calculate the numbers above.